Well, let's just get this over with: How not to approach Uncle Ted
by Beyond The Mat
Summary: Ted's 11-year old niece, Mikayla (oc), lands at his hotel after a not-so-successful visit with the grandparents. Being off of school for the summer, the family is piecing together some child care. But this isn't your typical kid. And Ted isn't your typical uncle. Some people are more old-school than others. Rated M, because that's how we roll. You'll find RKO visiting in here too.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The usual.

EXCEPT:

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If you weren't aware, Ted DiBiase's got an older brother, who's had his share of some of the seedier side that life has to offer. That's true. Google him. But the kid in here is totally fiction. An 11-year old girl that Mike has full custody of, and he's having some child care issues for the summer.

Oh, and the kid is going to get smacked. We're not apologizing for it, either. If you have a problem with that, hit 'back' on your browser, but we're gonna go ahead and think that you'd probably want to smack her yourself. No real kid was injured in the writing of this story, although a lot of kids this age with a mouth like this could probably do with a smack.

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We'll go ahead and start with the kid's bio, so you know what you're dealing with:

Registration: Mikayla DiBiase

by **Mikayla DiBiase** on Mon Jul 08, 2013 5:38 am

Name: did you not read the title of the topic? Duh.  
Age: 11

Mikayla is the daughter of Mike DiBiase, which would make her the granddaughter of the Million Dollar Man, WWE hall of famer Ted DiBiase, and Ted Jr.'s niece. As a single dad with custody of his daughter (which should indicate how much of a prize Mikayla's mother is if he got custody), Mikayla is off of school for the summer, and every summer seems to present different challenges with child care. Mikayla insists she's fine at home by herself, but Daddy's not having it. She's ELEVEN, not TEN anymore. God! Last year, a babysitter had been tolerated, albeit barely. There may or may not have been threats by summer's end that had Mikayla on notice to behave, or else. But she's lived with Daddy for more than half her life, just the two of them, and is highly annoyed that this year, he won't let her stay home yet. Somehow, "13" is supposed to be the magic number of what age he'll let her mind herself while he's at work, but that's TWO YEARS away yet. That might as well be forever!

The attempt of him trying to bring in a babysitter several weeks ago resulted in a fit thrown unlike any Mike had ever seen out of her...to get that sort of reaction out of her takes a lot, because really, when all's said and done at the end of the day, she's a good kid...so for her to have thrown herself headlong into the tantrum of the millenium, other strategies are being used. Plus, don't think that the cost savings of letting her visit family vs. The price of child care isn't considerable. So, the arrangement was to be a rotation of her grandparents during the weeks in July, with going home to Daddy on the weekends. August was to be split up among her uncles.

An argument with her stepgrandma, of which needn't be recapped here for public reading (let's just say the family knows how salty she got and they've spoken about it accordingly) occurred not even two weeks into July.

While Grandpa is willing to try again in August, Mikayla found her bags packed and she's being shipped toUncle Ted for the moment. This is to give some cool-off time to Gram and what Grandpa is calling "reflection time" for Mikayla.

Yeah. Reflect on how I told you I didn't NEED a babysitter in the first place and could have been home with Daddy. Whatever.

(No, she didn't say that part out loud. But she thought it and is still thinking it. If she can wear down her uncles as easily as Gram, maybe she'll be home where she belongs in a week or so.)

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You still here? Move on to Chapter 2, then. That's where it kicks off.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The usual. You met the kid, you decided to read on, and now, to quote RKO from later in the story, "Shit gets real and escalates quickly." You'll also meet Randy's son, Peyton in here. We didn't add his bio. We will in the next chapter, up top, so you can meet him too. Sorry if this reads disjointedly because you might think we expect you to know who Peyton is: We don't. But Peyton is the anti-Mikayla, if that helps.

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"Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** on Mon Jul 08, 2013 6:07 am

Grandpa was the one that brought her here and she's only given monosyllabic answers to his questions. She's not happy about this. Sure, she knew she'd pushed Grandma's buttons. That tends to happen when there are two women..okay, females, since she's not *quite* a woman yet at 11 years old...under the same roof. It's not Mikayla's fault that there's an overload of males to the female ratio. It's not her fault that Grandma's not exactly experienced when a preteen girl can sass back, cattily. It's what girls do.

Especially when Daddy's not around to hear it. She hadn't banked on Grandpa backing Grandma so quickly, though, and more or less whisking her out of there within thirty-six hours of what happened. Daddy had been called, and she'd spoken to him on the phone. Well, maybe going home this weekend isn't a good idea after all, not after how pissed off he sounded. So she was given options: Uncle Ted or Uncle Brett.

She had picked Uncle Brett first, but he had an out of town wedding he had to go to. "But I can go as his date!" she'd said, to which Grandpa couldn't hide the chuckle, but no, it was Uncle Ted. (Although Daddy had said that if it was a problem for his brothers, send her home now. Nope...not quite yet. Same way Gram needs to cool off, so do you.)

Now, don't get her wrong. She loves Uncle Ted. Hasn't seen him since Christmas, doesn't really give him a hard time. Loves Grandpa dearly, which is why he wasn't the target of Mikayla's mouth. It's all part of her grand scheme to make Daddy cave to her wish to let her be home by herself, supervise herself, during his work hours. And who knows, maybe she'll sway Uncle Ted into backing her up on this.

But she knew that with Uncle Ted, less so with Uncle Brett, there were rules. Ugh. Now, she and Daddy had more or less made the rules as they went. They really were good together, yet another reason she just wants to go home. And Grandpa said that Uncle Ted's none too pleased at what Mikayla said to Gram..."because that is his mother...she's also my wife, young lady. You don't talk to her like that."

Ugh.

Grandpa had given his name at the front desk and they'd gotten a room card to let themselves into UncleTed's hotel room. That's where they'd wait. Mikayla ended up falling asleep there, and by the time she woke up, Grandpa had gone. Uncle Ted was there now, and she stifled a yawn, shook the sleep out of her head as well as shaking her head now knowing that they'd better get this out of the way.

"Well, let's get this over with already..what are the rules," she asked, deadpan. No, this wasn't Christmas, with the leap, hug and kiss. She knows he's annoyed. Well, so is she!

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Randy Orton** on Mon Jul 08, 2013 3:02 pm

Randy and Peyton had caught a glimpse of Senior and Mike's daughter in the lobby, but the DiBiases were at the elevator banks, talking to each other and not looking in the Ortons' way, and unless Randy ran to catch up, it was too late.

Randy's known Mikayla for years, she and Peyton had actually had a couple of playdates when they were like, 8 and 6, when Randy had visited with Senior and Melanie and the girl had been there. Hadn't seen her in eons but still considered himself "knowing" her. He hadn't known that she'd be by, so was telling Peyton that maybe he'd have his old playmate around for a little bit.

Room service dinner had been ordered and hours had passed while Peyton and Randy relaxed, and he figured enough time had been given to settle in down the hall. Randy's got no idea that Senior was just dropping her here; figured maybe they'd be staying an overnight of for a show or something. So, it's with no knowledge that the little girl on the other side of the door is just waking up and basically telling Ted how it's gonna be. He and Peyton were clueless as to the reasons she's been delivered here, so of course, Randy's totally expecting to get green-lighted by Ted to take her for a couple hours so she and Peyton could get reacquainted.

"Maybe she's a gamer now. If she is, you two can play on the Xbox in our room," he said, as they waited for their door knocking to be acknowledged.

* * *

****

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** on Tue Jul 09, 2013 11:54 pm

"Somebody's at the door. I'll get it!" she volunteered rather quickly. It didn't appear that her approach of the verbal ripping of the Band Aid off (it was always a win with Uncle Brett and like a 30/70% with Daddy..30% of the time, Daddy gave in) was going all too well, because she swore that Uncle Ted may have changed colors in his face.

And that's not good. Grandma did that, and next thing, Mikayla was exiled out here. Uncle Ted being quiet is usually when he's thoughtful, or mad. So here's hoping that it's thoughtfulness.

And let's implement manners, since we shouldn't leave people knocking on the door being ignored, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?******  
**

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Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Ted DiBiase** Yesterday at 4:08 am

She's a brat.

That's all he took from all of this. And not even a manageable brat, or a brat he could bully. It came from being the youngest, and virtually getting your way. He knew it. He had seen it with his own brother, Brett, when they were younger. Thing is, he could always just make Brett cry, and tell him of the error of his ways later. Older brothers had that privilege, and it was one Ted abused when necessary.

As an uncle, you couldn't exactly sit on people's backs and apply chinlocks till the point of tears anymore. Had to be a bit more diligent. And in turn, a bit more stern. Being nice to little Mikayla wasn't going to work, she had already proved that much, and it was okay with him. He was a hellraiser of his own, more than she could ever be. The reason she got away with anything now? Because Mike, Ted, and Brett collectively wore down the rest of the family for the next generation. But this one?

"No, you sit your ass down. I'm getting it."

He answered the door himself, and saw the Ortons. Gave them the usual nod, and explained his...situation at the moment. "Got my niece here, and we just need to have a talk. I'll text you when we're done. Not exactly sure how this is gonna go." He said. He would try to make it quick, but if they decided to stick around, they might just hear someone in a very compromising position.

He marched over to her, "Look, little girl. I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you don't run shit. You hear me? I ain't Senior, I sure as hell ain't your grandmother. You get smart with me, I'm bustin' your ass, plain and simple. Try me."

He let that sink in before he continued. Gave it a few moments. "You're going to be with someone at all times, unless directed otherwise. You're not going to have a curfew, because you're not going out. You talk shit on your little facebook or twitter page, and I'll be sure to upload a video of you getting spanked for your friends and my fans to see. You go where I tell you to go, and you stay with who I tell you to stay with."

Since she got him going all militant at the moment, he hadn't given her names yet. If she earned that trust, and made a friend of a diva or something, he might let her go with another adult. -Might-. This one has proven herself a little feisty, and it nothing he can't fix. "Don't want to make this hard, but you setting yourself up for failure."

All those jokes he made about Peyton giving Randy hell one day, they all manifested into this one. He just knew it. But he'll be damned if he was overrun by a kid. "Any questions? And ask now, because you ain't getting no warnings. They ain't hard rules to remember."

* * *

by **Mikayla DiBiase** Yesterday at 4:29 am

She stepped way out of the way when Uncle Ted went to get the door. That gave her a few minutes to regroup. She was told to sit down, but did so on top of the couch, where your head's supposed to go. Her legs dangled down to the cushions and she watched him with a patented Very Bored Expression™ as he answered the door. His body blocked her from seeing who was there, otherwise she'd have waved. She'd remember Peyton. It's not like she'd had many boy playmates at home over the years...Daddy had seen to that.

She folded her arms after the door was closed and company dismissed, and her facial expression changed to one she's used on both Gram and Uncle Brett: Not Impressed In The Least™. Now, this is NOT one she's used on Daddy for the last four years and we needn't mention why, because it's not your business.

Had she sat on the couch where your butt's supposed to go, she wouldn't have the height advantage she's got right now. While she's not close to looking him in the eye, she does have a very clear view of where his collarbone is. Good enough. At least she's not looking like a girl small for her age (which she is) on a stupid, normal couch cushion.

But when he said how she's going to be with someone at all times...Ugh. Now it was like he was channeling Daddy. Uncle Ted had always been nice, yet firm. Were her *exact* words to Gram told toUncle Ted by Grandpa? Couldn't be. Grandpa's a Christian and he wouldn't have repeated her verbatim, right?

This had to come from somewhere. Curfew? Again, that was something Daddy they said was for the future. "13" was the magic number for staying at home, but "curfew" and "boyfriends" were to be at "Sweet Sixteen". Yeah, okay. That's why she'd already had her first kiss on the bus by Ryan Traeger on the school bus three weeks before school ended. Granted, it had been on her cheek, but a kiss is a kiss is a kiss. But 'bustin' her ass'?! No, no no no no.

"You wouldn't dare. We don't hit in this family." She tried those words out for size. Well, Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Brett never laid a finger on her. Uncle Ted may have thrown a pop her way once in a blue moon but never the magnitude of what he's threatening. She occasionally talks her way out of a spanking at home. So as far as she's concerned, this is all hot air. "Plus, Daddy doesn't let me upload videos of me, and he sure as shit ain't gonna let you post somethin' like that neither!"

Yes, her full drawl was in force, the snottiness giving way to sheer denial and disbelief. The language was something that just slipped in there, something that would've had her chomping on a bar of soap at home a few short years ago but Daddy's eased up since then and doesn't say a whole heck of a lot of the less harsh occasional cuss word slips out. She didn't even realize it had slipped, so you know it's one she uses pretty routinely when with her friends back home. Friends she could be having sleepovers with if she was home.

"Now you look here. *YOU* need to be on *MY* side. You don't want me here, so just tell Daddy you think I'm old enough to mind myself while he's workin'. Then we both win. See? It's that easy. Then you ain't have to worry about me."

She was a little nervous but not about to show it, because while his looks favor Uncle Brett more than they do Daddy, right now, he's looking wayyyyyyyyy too much like Daddy for her comfort levels.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Really? You don't know by now? Or better.."OH? YOU DIDN'T KNOW? THEN YO' ASS BETTER CALL SOMEBODY"...or something.

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As promised, here's Randy's kid's bio. Peyton, people. People, Peyton.

Registration: Peyton Orton

by **Peyton Orton** on Thu Jul 04, 2013 8:57 am

The one that was not supposed to be. Let's be real, he knew it. He knew it well; he was not supposed to have been even in existence right now. It's humbling, really. Your parents got it on one night, and Mommy decided to have her…ways…Of making the baby. He's sure Pops would have wrapped it up, right? Who knows. It's a night he'd rather not even have in his mind, but again, Humbling beginnings, literally.  
He wasn't fine with his mother. Even with the money Randy sent her, habits were formed and old habits were brought back. A lot of drinking, a lot of "friends," and with all of that, something's going to get neglected, right? So for a while, he was pretty dirty, not fed, and virtually more like an accessory than an actual baby.

Randy was a lot of things. Some of them might be considered horrible. Taking someone's word is one thing. Taking the mother of your child's word is another. It meant you trust, or trusted, them to some extent. Well, in 2004 when Randy broke his foot in Evolution, everything changed. In a haste, he did get Peyton and his clothes, and promptly cut Jessica out of his life. Peyton doesn't exactly ask about her, so if she's ever came around again or not? He'd never know. Doesn't want to.

It's been them ever since. A few women, sure. He hasn't lived on the road, nor has he been stuck in some sort of Orton mindset of every male child being a "wrassler". Living with Bob and Elaine was exactly the best thing all of the time, and he had another uncle who he could always depend on when he needed something.

But now that Randy really has comes to terms with a lot of things in his life, at least in Peyton's eyes, it's much easier for them to just live together. Randy's career is constant, money is good, and it's not like Peyton is a problem. At least not when his father is around.

The kid is virtually shady by nature. There's not much he'll say no to, and he's pretty fearless. But it's Randy who usually kills the fun, and goes all parental, so he has to play nice majority of the time. A healthy in-betweener, considering the rest of the rat pack he's stuck with on the road. (If Ben's heavenly, and Logan's clearly a demon, Peyton is in a nice condo in Purgatory.)

Being the youngest on the road means he'll probably be the one to be a bit more cautious as the others, but come on. His -Dad- is here. They just have big cousins and older brothers. Randy can be a bit…protective? By nature.

* * *

And now, back to our show.

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Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Ted DiBiase** Yesterday at 4:37 am

And that's when she was promptly flipped over on her seat, and hung over the top of the couch she was just sitting on. Ted took little time in bringing his arm back, and making full contact with her bottom before picking her up like the seven year old she was behaving like.

"There's where this family went wrong. I ain't your daddy, neither. I can be your best friend, or your worst nightmare. You pick." He said, and planted her down on the couch. She would -feel- that one for a while. And he hoped she would, it would be a pretty good reminder.

"Now people probably heard you getting swatted outside the door, too. You want to keep on entertaining them, or are you gonna quit being a brat?" Yeah, he said it. She wanted to be grown, he'd treat her like it, because he knows she can't take it. That was for the language, and the bad attitude. The next step is truly old school, because there's a bar of soap in the restroom that she's about to become mighty close to.

"Your Daddy should have handled you a long time ago. We know you're spoiled, but you ain't running me down. I'm not gonna ship you off, I'm better off making you behave myself. " He smirked, "Bet you wished you stayed with your grandparents now, don't you?" He said, trying to bait her. And if she took it, she'd get it again. He was far more ruthless than what he came off as around Christmas time, and he could even be brutal.

"Don't make your first day your worst. Wise up and shut up."

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** Yesterday at 4:48 am

She yelped before she could bite back the yelp. He'd had the advantage of surprise, and she was clearly surprised! And not in a good way, either! She would rather have given him the satisfaction of silence, but that hurt!

She scooted backward and got to her feet on the floor, rubbing her bottom furiously and had a "YOU DID NOT JUST" glare on her face, of shock, disbelief, and trying to get the sting out. She did blush when he mentioned the door but she was fairly sure that whoever was there had gone.

And we don't need to tell Daddy about this either because he may or may not have mentioned that should Uncle Ted swat her, she can expect it at home too. But he baited her, and she took the bait.

It was with narrowed eyes and clenched teeth that she managed a "Didn't even hurt", although muttered, was quite clear. Her little chin was jutted upward and she was clearly pissed off. That's another thing she doesn't say at home, that it didn't hurt. At home, it's cry before anything even happens and Daddy lets her off easy. Tried saying what she'd just said now, back then. Daddy didn't play that. She did attempt to hop off further away though, and find where the bedroom was. She'd slept on this very couch earlier and is just looking to distance herself from someone so MEAN!

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Ted DiBiase** Yesterday at 4:55 am

You think he's done? HA! He snorted before stopping her.

"Where you going? We got company, some people here to see you. If you like, you can explain to them why you're rubbing your ass and hopping around like that." He explained. Of course, she didn't get to see the Ortons at the door, but he would definitely be bringing them in now. She would remember this day for sure. Maybe she would cry, she would just look like a big baby in front of someone who could be her friend, an Uncle who see through her shit, and her Uncle's friend who would be listening to a very humorous discipline story in the near future.

He ordered her to the couch, and gave a look of his own that dared her to disobey, and went to get the door. The worse she could do now is be spiteful and piss on herself like she used to do when she was a toddler. Always to fiery.

"Sorry about that, anyway, come in. Just had to take care of an issue. All good now." He explained to them before sidestepping to let them in.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** Yesterday at 4:59 am

She didn't like that look, at all, and she's not up for company. When his back was turned, she ran for the bathroom and slammed the door for all it was worth, with all her might.

The only problem with the slam was that it had come ajar just a little bit, so that even though she locked it, the door wasn't exactly lined up just right, which means it's looking like it's locked, but it would take like a pinky finger from the outside to open it.

She was furious. Now she heard him talking out there, which took the wind of her about to scream "I DON'T LIKE YOU" sails, but she was thinking she's more than secure in here. So she fumed silently.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Randy Orton** Yesterday at 5:02 am

He looked over his shoulder, and his arm was around Peyton's shoulder; they'd been returning to their room, figuring now wasn't a good time, when Ted popped his head out and told them to come on back.

But then that -slam- from inside was heard all the way out here in the hall.

"...you sure, man?" Randy asked, a questioning look on his face. "If it ain't a good time, just text like you said you would, it's cool." No sooner had Ted said it was cool, then it certainly sounded otherwise, lol.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Ted DiBiase** Yesterday at 5:06 am

He didn't ask if you were up for company, did he? They came here to see you, the least you could do was have manners. Probably didn't have those either. Didn't seem to have much training with other humans. A brat, indeed.

He'd just leave her in there, then. Might take the soap to her since she's so close to the sink and he knows she's in there saying all sorts of profanities. Sounds like another thing on the to-do list.

"No, no. It's fine. She's just trying the deal I guess. You know I don't do kids well anyway." He said. Well, besides Peyton, but hell, it wasn't much to watch over. He stuck to his game systems, his homework, and the occasional question or two. Maybe to the vending machine. But then again, even Logan can be bearable before this one, that much is obvious.

"So you see what I've been getting a grip on since this morning." He joked to them, before taking the spot at the small desk in his room, and let the two of them take up the couch and the remote to the TV. "What have you guys been up to?"

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Peyton Orton** Yesterday at 5:07 am

He took the offer on the TV remote, and was quick to fly through the guide to find a movie, or something to watch to kill a few minutes.

He muttered a "Keibler." to Ted's question, but he didn't dare look over to see if Ted or Randy caught it.

If she was misbehaving, he couldn't help but ride the bandwagon a little. He had to, it was calling him.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Randy Orton** Yesterday at 5:12 am

Oh, Randy caught it, and smirked. Blushed. But Ted knew, he had to know, that Randy might still hold a little torch for that woman.

"Behave, Peyton Keith," he said, and shook his head, grinning up at Ted. "Kids ain't always easy, how long you got her for? Was thinkin' of lookin' for a water park or somethin' over the next few days..wherever we go, it seems like a heatwave's followin' us and a water park might be just the thing for the kids." Sure, the hotels mostly had pools, but they were heated. And the fuck good does a heated pool do in a heatwave?

Plus, after a particular pool in France some years back had more or less made Randy's fake tanner shed like a snakeskin, he opts to stay away from the heated stuff...even though it was the chlorine that caused the problem.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** Yesterday at 5:15 am

**_Daddy, Uncle Ted hit me for no reason!_**

Yes. She'd sent that text. And Daddy, being the protective Daddy that he is, has a tendency to not think sometimes before he reacts.

Mikayla knew she was taking a gamble, too, because after all, Daddy had told her if it happens while she's with other family it's gonna happen again at home. So she's got to try and put a spin on this.

**_Are you serious?_** Daddy texted back.  
_**yessir**_ she texted back.  
**_You really didn't do anything, Mikayla?_**  
**_I promise, Daddy_**

Within sixty seconds, Uncle Ted's cellphone was ringing. Nope, not the text ringtone either, but as in somebody's gonna yell at you on the phone ringtone.

So there.

And it was only when that ringtone was audible, did she come out and say hello to the Ortons. She'd rubbed the sting out and since Uncle Ted had an important call to field, she could say her hellos and show her manners.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Ted DiBiase** Yesterday at 5:42 am

He was even going to take the call. He did text Mikayla though.

_**Tell him the truth before I do. I'll probably have to remind him what you said to Grandma, too. **_

He smirked at the murmur, air-fived Peyton, and didn't say anything at all. Randy's reaction was quite enough. However, he then shook his head. "Oh, trust me. We're not ready for the general public, yet. Way things are lookin', she'll end up sleeping on her stomach more often than not."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: *Facepalm* I am not writing something witty here. It's 4:35 in the morning. Leave me alone.

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Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** Yesterday at 5:45 am

_**You wouldn't dare**_

Locked doors and bluffs called, she was getting a little scared, but surely Daddy believed her? Otherwise he wouldn't have called Uncle Ted so fast?

She glared at the piece of wood, that trusty door, that separated her from them, and was glad for it. Now she's pacing the bathroom. Her gamble's still on Uncle Ted getting tired of nonsense and just sending her home, especially now that Daddy's hopefully gonna yell at him!

She does want to see Peyton, though, and say hi, before she gets shipped back. And she might've heard something about a water park, which of course got her interest...

No, she still wants to go home, she thinks. Well, depending on how the phonecall turns out.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Randy Orton** Yesterday at 5:48 am

Randy arched an eyebrow. Apparently, Ted had no qualms about shit getting real or escalating quickly. He had to chuckle. But then Ted's phone ringing, and he's shooting off a quick text...

He could hear the yelling, something like "Did you hit her?!" And Randy's known Mike since he was a kid. Aw, shit.

Did that little girl manipulate shit? Randy couldn't help but look amused, though. He was appreciating Peyton all the more. Lol

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** Yesterday at 7:30 am

It was quiet enough for her to 'unlock' the door now, and peek her head out. Intentionally not lookingUncle Ted in the face, she did offer a "hi Peyton. Hiya Randy," before taking a couple steps out beyond the bathroom..not too far away from it, in the event she needs to dash back in and lock it, but at least her uncle can't honestly say she wasn't polite or a little sociable, even if she was keeping a physical distance (that's called self preservation! *eyeroll*)

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Ted DiBiase** Yesterday at 2:00 pm

It would be her phone ringing next. Ted's conversation with her father had come to an end, and as promised, Ted had to let Mike in on how his daughter acted whenever he wasn't around. And believe me, the report he got was one you never want as a parent. But Mike was a special case, because he was way worse than Ted could be, truth be told. She'd find that out in a moment.

"Pretty sure that's for you, little girl." He said to her.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Peyton Orton** Yesterday at 2:02 pm

He gave her a quick wave, and left it at that. He was a middle schooler, which meant she had to at least be in the...5th/6th grade? And just...no. She was eleven, which meant she couldn't even be cute. She was still on little kid status in his mind.

But, Dibiases seemed to be more challenged than Ortons when it came to behavior, and you can bet that Peyton was going to take the free entertainment. He muted to TV for the phone call. What? He had manners.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Mikayla DiBiase** Yesterday at 2:59 pm

Her jaw dropped lower...and lower...and lower after she'd said hello to the Ortons and they greeted her back, when she could hear what was being said. _ !_

Frantic fingers shot Daddy a text, which apparently wasn't a well-received one, since she was trying to dispute what she was hearing! Daddy didn't text her back, and that didn't bode well. Nope, the conversation continued between the brothers. The smug look on her Uncle Ted's face was not lost on her at all. All color had drained from her face, every drop of it, when *her* phone rang.

What to do?

Well...she could let it go to voicemail, except Daddy set her phone up to where, if a call is missed, it's "The customer you are trying to reach does not have their voicemailbox set up. Thank you, goodbye." It hadn't always been that way._ *That* had happened when she tried to be slick, one day after gymnastics practice and went with her friends to the local pizza place for an hour. An unreachable hour, where he'd gone absolutely crazy looking for her when she wasn't at the pickup spot. Her phone rang and she was with her friends. She spied the Caller ID and ignored it. That's what voicemail's for, right?_

Daddy blew up her phone and she blew him off. Seriously, everybody else's parents let them go here after practice sometimes. And it's not the point that she could've asked to go...why should *she* have to ask when they just GO?

Well..she found out why when he tracked her down there. Not only did she lose her voicemail on her phone, she could forget about seeing her friends for the next month. She was *still* trying to earn voicemail back. And let's just say that if you *don't* answer that phone when Daddy calls? Unless the phone is dead...which of course, there's a witness in her smirking Uncle that it's not..or *she's* dead, which she feels like she's about to die...then that phone better get answered.

"Hi, Daddy?" she said, in the most angelic near-whimper voice, and took off back into the bathroom with her phone. You wouldn't hear much from her in way of responding. Oh, no. This was something that she was *listening* to. Trust that she was listening *very* closely. Daddy has a way of getting in her head and capturing her attention over the phone.

Well...okay. Maybe you'd hear a sniffle or two in the quiet, and a few minutes later an "okay", but she had no intention of coming out there. Everything's fresh in her head and she knows she has an apology to make. She's not going to do it in front of the Ortons, though. Daddy at least agreed that she didn't have to, something like "You didn't act up in front of them so you can wait 'til they leave." Uncle Ted's text tone would be going off with a similar message to him with Daddy's word on that...that there would be an apology but privately (Daddy may have included that a "different" little girl should be expected now that the conversation's been had), once they left.

She went to sit on the floor in there and even that wasn't comfortable, thanks to a "reminder." She muttered and shifted a little, getting as comfortable as possible, which wasn't very. Yes, this was going to be a long week. And she's on notice that should Daddy get another phonecall like that, he'll come get her himself, and no, not to give in to what she wanted.

Not good.

* * *

Re: "Well, let's get this over with already."

by **Randy Orton** Yesterday at 3:55 pm

Randy's eyebrows went to the hairline as he observed.

When Ted hung up and Mikayla had that look of somebody going to the gallows, and that bathroom door closed over, Randy offered knuckles to his Legacy teammate.

"Well played."

He was impressed, lol. And if anything, Peyton just got a preview of a phonecall that Randy never wanted to receive. (Not that he would, since Peyton's civilized. But damn.)


	5. Chapter 5

Ted's eyes glanced toward the bathroom door, where Mikayla had holed up, and Randy's eyes followed. Mike was a bit of a loose cannon-they knew this. And Randy had suggested to Peyton to put his earbuds in and play on his iPod for a little bit. Peyton did, but of course he didn't put the volume on, lol. He heard every word they were saying, unbeknownst to them.

* * *

Randy asked flat out what happened, what the backstory was. Ted told him precisely what little Mikayla said to her grandmother that ended up with Ted Sr. bringing her here. Let's just say that the word, that started with a C and ended with a T, with four letters, a word Randy was known to use, that should Peyton use, he'd have ended up with his own fried backside...Randy was a little more than startled to hear that a little girl called Melanie DiBiase -that-.

* * *

Peyton did well to hide his shock and just tried to look engrossed in Temple Run, but he couldn't imagine using that word to an adult. While Randy's never slapped him in the face, in all of his life (Randy has a thing about that. Being punched in the mouth by Cowboy Bob at about 13-14 years old, that's something that stuck with Randy, and he'd made and kept a personal vow to never hit any child of his there, that doesn't make old-school parenting completely off-limits. Peyton's thrown over the knee when absolutely necessary. It's a Midwest/Southern thing and it's a last resort and pretty effective. Just the threat alone tends to work more often than not, and when you've got an intimidating-looking Dad who's got the parental "LOOK" down to a science, rarely do you have to raise a hand...)

* * *

"I'd have probably took the belt to him if he'd ever called -my- mother that," Randy admitted. Peyton felt his face flushing and stomach dropping. NEVER would he call his grandmother THAT! He VALUED his life!... and he rearranged himself to face away a little more so his eavesdropping didn't become totally obvious.

* * *

Ted agreed. "But here's the thing. Mike...well, Mike doesn't get along great with my mother. You know that." Mike was from Ted Sr.'s first marriage and Melanie was his stepmother. While -Mike- might not think greatly of her, he acknowledged that -that- level of disrespect wasn't allowed. He also gave Ted free reign to handle her as he saw fit, dispelling Mikayla's earlier telling of Ted that "we do not hit in this family." That was more of an attempt of convincing Ted of that, lol. Wishful thinking.

* * *

Ted had chuckled grimly when he conveyed this to Randy..."She knows her Grandpa won't touch her, and my mother was too upset to. Brett? Brett wouldn't hurt a fly. But her being dropped off here as quick as she was, I'm gonna set that aside. What she said to my mother, that's between them. She got mouthy with me and she got herself swatted. She keeps it up, so will I. She'll learn one way or another. I just...well, Mike says to treat her as my own, and he saw through her bullshit. You also know my brother's a little nuts, but that little girl's probably the only reason he's stayed out of prison for this long." Mike had done time in Texas but has done his best to be law-abiding for his daughter's sake.

* * *

Mike also told Ted that she's the reason he's stayed clean, drug-wise, for as long as he has. This is one of the longest stretches of Mike's adult life that he's been able to. And while he lets certain shit go, and tries not to be too rough, Mikayla's no stranger to punishment when deserved. And Mike's reasoning is that "when she doesn't listen with her ears, I talk to the other end." She's getting a little old chronologically to be treated like a bratty little second-grader but when the attitude calls for it, that's the only thing that gets her to listen. When it's things like what she'd done with her cellphone (letting Mike go to voicemail while he went out of his head with worry over where she was when she'd gone to the pizza place with her friends), then he goes with the older-kid punishments like grounding and threatening to take the phone away.

* * *

Mike reassured Ted that he'd done no wrong and, much to Mikayla's dread should she find out that her Daddy told her Uncle this, "Whatever you give her, she gets from me when she gets home." Ted didn't look comfortable with that, though, "Because seriously, that might cause her to do one of two things. Act out more...like Brett used to, when we were kids...my mother would crack him a shot, tell Senior and then he'd get punished for the same thing twice...so his logic was 'if I'm gonna get it double, I might as well make it worth it', -or- she's gonna just more or less walk on eggshells and be in fear. That ain't right."

* * *

Randy agreed that it wasn't right. "Nothin' stoppin' you from figuring it out as you go along. Like I do with him. But when he fucks up royally..which I'm blessed he tends not to...but when he does something that's gonna earn him some pain, I tell him I hope it was worth it. Then I make sure he's sorry, but after that? Clean slate. If you're gonna have her here, you might wanna make a deal with her that as long as she doesn't make the same mistake..well, not mistake...but you know what I mean..if she learns the first time from you and doesn't repeat whatever she did, then just don't tell Mike."

* * *

Ted thought about it, and applied it to his own memories. Would've been a lot less stressful when his Dad came home off the road knowing that Senior would have been stress-free and -happy- to see them rather than first having to lay down the law, make them miserable, and then the next day, everything would be okay.

* * *

Peyton popped an earbud out and asked if he could go back to their hotel room..he needed to go to the restroom and didn't want to barge in on Mikayla. Ted offered to fish her out of there, but it was Randy who said no, "It's better we go for now. The longer she sits in there, the longer you got for her to get all worked up. I'll take him on back to our room. You work things out and we'll, 4 of us, have breakfast tomorrow. It's gettin' late anyways."

* * *

Mikayla, meanwhile, had heard all of it, not knowing Peyton had. Even still, she was mortified that she was the topic of conversation like that. But she was feeling a ton of gratitude that Peyton's Dad was maybesortakinda saving her a little. Because even though that swat from her Uncle Ted did sting, it significantly faded. Had Daddy gotten a hold of her tonight? She'd have cried herself to sleep, guaranteed. She heard the Ortons say their goodnights and she'd cracked the bathroom door open a little to offer a meek goodnight of her own. It was barely audible, but they had heard it. She didn't make eye contact with Peyton because it was just too embarrassing. Had she even attempted eye contact, she'd see Peyton too was squirming. Ted and Randy exchanged glances with a knowing, soft chuckle.

* * *

Ted didn't even have to ask her to come out of the restroom once the Ortons left, but his tone did change. It wasn't as militant as it had been earlier, but there was still a tone of not-too-thrilled-with-you and the Voice of Authority, albeit softer.

"Come sit by me here, we're gonna sort this now."


	6. Chapter 6

Mikayla looked at her Uncle Ted suspiciously for a second, before scooting out and sitting at the far end of the couch. She was fidgety, which Ted more or less expected. He'd had a good idea that she'd hung on their every word and the look on her face said it all. So, he made no bones about what he was going to tell her, and spelled things out concisely. It was actually a good thing she'd listened in. That way, there was little bullshit and more ground covered. The sooner he told her how things were going to be, the sooner that Mikayla would find out life could be easy or hard. That it would be up to her.

* * *

"C'mere," he'd said, and extended his hand to her, palm up, almost like you'd call a dog over. She eyed his hand a second warily...it was the same hand that had swatted her, but on a leap of faith, took it and scooted over about halfway. Ted stifled the chuckle and pulled her to sit on his lap. She squirmed for a second.

"Let's get somethin' straight, Mikayla. You're -on- my lap. Not -over- it. There's a difference. Right now, we're just gonna talk. Actually, I'm gonna talk and you're gonna listen. When it's your turn to talk, it'll be entirely up to you whether you remain sitting like this or if you get flipped over across my knee. And it ain't hard to stay out of trouble. If it's trouble you want, it's trouble you're gonna get. You're not gonna wear me down, little girl. I'm bigger than you, I'm older than you, and I'm making the rules. I told you some of 'em earlier when you still had an attitude. You still have the attitude now?"

She glanced up at him a little less sullenly, but still sulking. "Nosir. But you...you...I only said that to Gram 'cause I wanted to be with Daddy," she sighed. "I knew she'd get mad and I figured she'd send me home. Not to you. I don't know why Daddy's so hung up on numbers, that at ~this~ age or ~that~ age I can do sh-stuff."

Ted smirked and congratulated her sarcastically on controlling the profanity.

* * *

"I'll tell you exactly why. 'Cause you're a little girl. Maybe if you were a boy, he'd let you be home. Ain't sayin' it's fair, but that's life. You come from a family that's got all boys. You're the only girl in two generations. Girls are still kinda new to us. And there's a lot of creeps out there. Your Daddy would never forgive himself if something happened to you while he wasn't able to watch you. The law even says he can't leave you alone. You want him to go back to j-break the law?"

Ted had backpedaled a bit. Yes, Mikayla knew Mike had done time, but it's not something that's easy to talk about. Her eyes misted over and she shook her head furiously no. It was clear she hadn't seen it from that vantage point, and it was enough to make her brain click and for sense to kick in, to the point where she couldn't even argue the possible "fairness/unfairness" issue of girls not getting the same freedom as boys. Not at this age. Daddy was one to shelter her to a point, but they'd watch the news together at dinner. More often than not it was girls that went missing or bodies found than boys. And Daddy had told her more than once when a little girl not much younger than her had been abducted not far from where they lived, and her body was found within 12 hours, that he wouldn't know what he'd do without her, that it made sense. The whole generations thing. But Daddy didn't actually explain it as calmly as Uncle Ted just did. Daddy would get angry seeing those stories on TV and there was always an edge in his voice; Mikayla couldn't understand that the cases like that on TV were things that sometimes had Mike DiBiase fighting insomnia. That those things could have happened, maybe -would- have happened, under Mikayla's mother's watch. That "There but for the grace of God go I" was a phrase Mike would say silently to himself. Names like Casey Anthony and more recently, Rayne Perrywinkle, were stories that haunted him.

* * *

Tears started. The thought of Daddy in jail made the mist turn to full tears. Ted hadn't expected her to give in so easily to reason, nor was he as immune as he thought to little girl tears. When a thought could reduce her to bawling, it was a lot more effective than the swat over the back of the couch. He hugged her tightly, his chest like a protective wall of muscle. He thought maybe she was afraid of the creeps he'd mentioned and apologized if he'd scared her. He'd apologized in a quiet, sincere voice. She found her own voice through tears and said, "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I just don't want to lose Daddy to prison."

* * *

They talked about things like stranger danger and how the family didn't put rules in place solely for the purpose of making Mikayla miserable. He was able to coax a smile out of her toward the end of the talk, but the smile faded when he did remind her, "I'm not gonna tolerate brattiness, though. You're not a dumb kid, 'Kayla, and you're not gonna play me like you play Uncle Brett. I told you, I could be your best friend or your worst enemy. What's it gonna be?"

* * *

She looked at him thoughtfully after wiping her eyes with her sleeve and gave a little wisecrack..."My best frenemy." Ted did have to laugh. She did have a wicked little sense of humor for somebody her age. And clearly she was tired. The nap she'd taken when she'd arrived with Senior hadn't been enough to sustain this conversation too much further into the night, and before he knew it, if he didn't get her tucked in bed soon, she -and- he might end up being monsters tomorrow. He picked her up like she was half her age, which was easy, and brought her to the second bed in the 2-queen bed hotel room. He tucked her in as if she was his own, letting her sleep in her clothes rather than try to unpack her stuff this late at night. She fell asleep within minutes and if his ears didn't deceive him, she might've said as she had when she was little, an I love you along with her goodnight. Of course, whether he heard wrong or right, he responded to what he thought he'd heard.

* * *

He had heard correctly, after all. She fell asleep feeling a lot more secure and less fearful. This didn't mean that a few days later, she didn't find herself the recipient of a series of swats that wouldn't go on report to Daddy, but she'd earned those less out of disrespect and more for acting bratty towards Peyton Orton. The hotel's restaurant offered a buffet, but they didn't offer it for a food fight. In her defense, she hadn't started it.

Who did?

Randy Orton did. He'd torn the piece of paper off half of his drink straw, and had blown the paper off with the intent to shoot Ted with it. It had flown off target and hit Mikayla right dead center in her forehead. She hadn't seen the shooter but thought Peyton had. The next thing anybody knew, broccoli florets had been catapulted off of her spoon and she'd landed a direct hit on Peyton's chin. "Mikayla!" Ted had warned, and Randy was more startled than anything. Whereas Peyton got off with a warning after he'd countered with a spoonful of corn, Mikayla had been abruptly brought upstairs after she'd followed up the broccoli with a forkful of mashed potatoes, scoring another direct hit. Peyton was shocked more than anything, but Randy had slipped him a $10 bill to "take it like a man" and not rat Randy out for being the strawpaper shooter.

* * *

"It was a little piece of paper, Mikayla, not a damned rock!" Ted said as he'd tugged her out of the restaurant by the hand and took her upstairs on the elevator. Oh, she was livid. She did have her Daddy's temper sometimes, a temper that Ted too could share but he'd spent much of his life learning how to water it down. "You don't act like an animal at the table!"

"HE started it!" she'd insisted. And truth told, Ted didn't see who 'he' was. Had he known it was Randy, he'd probably have just fired a strawpaper back. But since the little girl overreacted, corrective measures were taken. Nothing too severe, but just a reminder of who the boss was. 15 minutes later, they were back downstairs. Her eyes were a little teary and she sat a little gingerly, but Ted would be proud to say that out of his time with her, that was the only time he'd had to take it to that level. He'd also kept Mikayla for an extra couple of weeks...weeks she'd ended up *asking* to stay with him, rather than go with Uncle Brett.

Brett was actually a little perturbed, thinking that Ted 'replaced' him in their niece's heart. It wasn't that. It was just that between her overprotective Daddy and her very laid-back uncle, Ted was the perfect balance, the happy medium, and it would be a time in the summer that she'd actually learned quite a bit. She'd even written a heartfelt apology letter to her grandparents, without Ted even prompting her to.


End file.
